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Thursday, March 13, 2025

What wretch from that bleak gloom staggered? - Esper's Orcs

What wretch from that bleak gloom staggered?
Sallow and festering and with ill-wrought garb.
A ghoul? A demon? With disquietude swaggered,
Bearing cruel rusted arms and jagged barbs.

-Orceas, Runvar


Esper the Bard. https://youtu.be/PpT-gZ8XX_k?list=LL&t=10

His version of orcs is great... might have to buy one of his books. He's got some great descriptions like:
"The orcs prowl about, slouched and gnarled things."

I really like his statblock sidebar Detail Options:
*Aggressive - all orcs have it: As a bonus action, the orc an move up to its speed toward a hostile creature that it can see. 

  1. No tongue - tongue cut out/communicates with grunts and rasps.
  2. Skewered Head of enemy - on a spear.
  3. Extremist - ... weird tattoos and body disfigurements. 
  4. Stench - 
  5. Deformed and scarred - face and body from combat or brutal rites. 
  6. Iron collar - collar and chain... loose, where is the controller? 
  7. Bestial - wears the skin of an animal's head on its head. After uses Aggressive, it can make an unarmed strike (+4 to hit, 3 bludg or pierce).
  8. Wrathful vengeance - if it sees enemy kill an ally, it attacks that enemy next.
  9. Ear necklace - elf or human ears
  10. Pouch of teeth - full of teeth, some humanoid.
  11. Cursed axe - wields a cursed +1 greataxe: you cannot unattune from it, and you take 2 (1d4) psychic dmg whenever u miss w/ an attack or att w/ a diff weapon.
  12. Emaciated - gaunt and malnourished, this orc is frail but disturbingly quick, moving like a starving jackal. 
  13. Branded - skin scarred from cruel tribal brands (hot iron)
  14. Blood frenzy - has adv on melee weapon att against creatures / targets that have half their HP or fewer. 
  15. The Screamer - never stops shrieking and howling in battle. 
  16. Reckless - when it uses Aggressive, it gains adv on melee weapon att rolls until the start of its next turn, and att rolls made against it have adv during this time. 
  17. Demon's thrall - a demonic symbol carved into forehead. It particularly hates clerics/paladins/divine char.s.
  18. Brutish Lout - a bigger orc, in combat it targets smallest or most physically weak enemy. 
  19. Wild Aggression - when uses Aggressive, it can make a melee or thrown weapn attack as part of the bonus action. If miss, it falls prone and cannot stand up till its next turn. 
  20. One handed butcher - missing a hand. Has a spike/hook/crude weapon attached. 

Orc Priest Info below - 



...unable to attack a creature on its turn, it takes 3d8 psychic dmg itself. If immune to Charm, also immune to Savage Frenzy. 


CR1 Orc  Festering-Arrow Archer


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